OBama ExOrd May Require Those Selling Even a Single Firearm to Become FFLs

Order also brings back plan to keep certain Social Security recipients from buying guns.

The Oba­ma admin­is­tra­tion announced dur­ing a con­fer­ence call with reporters Mon­day evening that the president’s upcom­ing exec­u­tive order may require some­body sell­ing even a sin­gle firearm to obtain a Fed­er­al Firearms License.

Dur­ing the call White House Press Sec­re­tary Josh Earnest, White House Senior Advis­er Valerie Jar­rett, and Attor­ney Gen­er­al Loret­ta Lynch explained the details of the order, which will be announced pub­licly by Pres­i­dent Oba­ma Tues­day at 11:40 a.m. The action, offi­cials explained, would include guid­ance on how the Bureau of Alco­hol, Tobac­co, Firearms, and Explo­sives will now deter­mine who is “engaged in the busi­ness” of sell­ing firearms under fed­er­al law and, there­fore, who is required to obtain a license to sell firearms.

“ATF will make clear that whether you are ‘engaged in the busi­ness’ depends on the facts and cir­cum­stances,” Jar­rett said. “On fac­tors such as: whether you rep­re­sent your­self as a deal­er, such as mak­ing busi­ness cards or tak­ing cred­it card state­ments. Whether you sell firearms short­ly after they’re acquired or whether you buy or sell in the orig­i­nal pack­ag­ing.”

“Num­bers are rel­e­vant. The ATF and DOJ did not iden­ti­fy a mag­ic num­ber of weapons that makes you engaged in the busi­ness because that would lim­it their abil­i­ty to bring pros­e­cu­tion.”

Jar­ret then said that sell­ing as few as “two firearms” could require some­body to obtain a fed­er­al firearms license. How­ev­er, lat­er in the call, Attor­ney Gen­er­al Lynch revised that num­ber down fur­ther. “It can be as few as one or two depend­ing upon the cir­cum­stances under which the per­son sells the gun,” Lynch said.